don't let me go

  • overcome.

    overcome. (100)

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    Ariah Gilbert | & | Tyler Lockwood
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    All I can give you is memories
    Carry them with you and I'll never leave
    I'll lay my head down
    But when I lay my head down
    Don't let me go
    Hold me in your beating heart
    I won't let go
    Forever is not enough

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    Liza Gilbert | & | Stefan Salvatore
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    October 17th, 2017 at 11:18am
  • sugarplum.

    sugarplum. (100)

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    (Sorry if this sucks)

    Stefan had arrived back in Mystic Falls a few weeks ago as he wanted to visit his distant nephew Zach, like he did every couple of years just to see how his nephew was going. The small town wasn’t his favourite place to be as it held many memories for the vampire, good and bad memories which Stefan didn’t really like to relive. But Zach was family, his last living family member in face. He hadn’t seen his older brother Damon, for a very long time and he wasn’t really planning on catching up with his brother any time soon. But Stefan was glad that he was back in Mystic Falls, he had saved a young girl from drowning although he was sadly too late to save her parents. But what shocked him was how much she looked like Katherine, he had watched her to make sure that Katherine wasn’t back and he soon found out that this girl wasn’t actually his selfish ex-girlfriend.

    This girl intrigued him though, which made him pretend to be a transfer student at Mystic Falls High school. He hadn’t been a student for many, many years but he wanted to know this girl more. It was his first day, he compelled the lady in the office to make her think she had all the correct paperwork and that he was transferring from another school in another town. He could hear the students whispering among themselves as they saw him, he didn’t pay much attention to what they were all saying about him. He was there for one reason only and that was to see Liza Gilbert, he wasn’t sure why or how she looked so much like Katherine. He wanted to find out as Katherine had damaged both himself and Damon, it was her fault that they were both vampires now.
    Ariah inhaled deeply as her warm brown eyes stared at the front entrance of Mystic Falls High, she carried her backpack over her shoulders. Normally a day at school wouldn’t have felt so daunting, but today was her first day back after losing her parents. It was hard on her, Liza and their younger brother Jeremy, but Jenna was right. They needed to get back into their normal schedule, even if school was the last place Ariah wanted to be right now, she knew it would be good for her siblings. It was still hard on the Gilbert family but it seems like her twin sister was taking their parents death the hardest, Ariah knew by how much Liza was drawing away from others and she could actually physically feel the pain and sorrow that her sister felt. It was strange but Ariah had always been able to feel Liza’s emotions, she put it down to them being twin sisters.

    “You ready?” Ariah asked as her eyes moved over to her sister, “I’ve already given Jeremy the talk about what will happen if he skips school.” She stated as their brother was going through the awkward teenage stage, it didn’t help that he hung out with the wrong people but he wasn’t listening to anything Ariah or Jenna told him. Her arm looped around Liza’s as she knew they could get through the day, Ariah had stepped up when their parents died and became a rock to her family. “I’m sure the teachers will understand if you need to take a breather during class,” She assured her sister as they started walking towards the main entrance of the school.
    October 18th, 2017 at 11:22am
  • overcome.

    overcome. (100)

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    (It doesn’t suck at all! It’s perf, as always~ I hope this is okay.)

    Liza lifted her gaze to stare at the entrance for a few long moments, trying to steel herself for their first day back. She didn’t really want to be here. In all honesty, she would have preferred to stay at home, curled up in her blanket, pretending that everything was okay. But, instead, she had to go to school and be surrounded by people who would talk about how sorry they were to hear about the accident and keep drawing attention to the fact that their parents were dead. For a moment, she felt a lump form in her throat with the thought. She still felt so much guilt and pain from that night. Ariah had convinced her to go to the bonfire, but she’d decided to go home early. If she hadn’t called their parents to come get her, their parents would still be there. Ariah and Jeremy would still have their mom and dad. But, she’d ruined all of their lives that night and she hated it.

    Breathing out, she tried to avoid breaking down. It had happened plenty of times since that night and she didn’t feel like she had the right to break down like that. It was her fault. Closing her eyes, she waited for a moment before she nodded slightly. “I guess I’m ready,” she decided quietly, looking to Ariah for a moment as she forced a smile to her lips. “We can get through the day.” They had to. Looking ahead, she stuck close to Ariah as they began walking, though she ducked her head when she noticed some other students’ sympathetic stares. She understood that they felt bad for the Gilberts, but she didn’t like those looks; she didn’t like the attention. “Do you think Jeremy will actually listen to you on that one?”
    Tyler, surprisingly, had made it to school early today. His best friend, Matt, was still bumming about the break up with Liza a couple weeks prior. Plus, Matt was mourning the Gilberts’ parents deaths almost as much as the Gilberts were. Matt had always been close to that family, after all. Tyler felt bad for them, even if Jeremy was a bit of a punk sometimes. They didn’t have many issues, though, not anymore. When Tyler had been having a little fun with Vicki, it’d caused some problems between himself and the youngest Gilbert, but they’d gotten past it after he’d decided to stop seeing Vicki and had started putting his friendship with Matt above all of that, rather than Matt’s sister. Getting to his locker, he looked around, though he heard some kids talking about some new student. He ignored that in favor of looking around for Matt.

    Instead, he caught sight of the Gilbert twins entering the school. He knew they were just as close to Matt as he had been and he was sure it must really suck to have lost their parents. He could see people gawking at them, quietly whispering among themselves, likely about the loss of the girls’ parents. Scowling, he shook his head and made his way over towards them, spotting Matt heading over as well. “Ignore them,” he mentioned quietly to the girls, though he spotted Matt looking at him with mild surprise. “They’ll stare for a while, but they’ll get over themselves soon.” He wanted to apologize about their parents’ deaths, but he knew that wouldn’t do much good. Matt watched for a moment before he nodded in response. “Surprisingly, Tyler’s right,” Matt assured them gently, “How are you two holding up?”
    October 18th, 2017 at 11:45am
  • sugarplum.

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    (Sorry if Stefan’s part is boring, I wasn’t sure what to write for him)

    Stefan walked out from the front office and back into the crowded hallway, he could feel all the eyes staring into him as he walked through the hall towards his new locker. He clearly heard all the whispers which he had been completely expecting, he was the new kid at school after all. But the whispers weren’t just about him this time, he also heard that the Gilbert siblings had returned back to school that day as well. After he saved the girl who looked exactly like Katherine, he dug into her life as he had to make sure she wasn’t back in Mystic Falls. Thankfully he was proved wrong because Liza Gilbert wasn’t Katherine, somehow, she just looked like a copy of his ex-girlfriend. He still hated that he couldn’t have saved Liza’s parents, but when he swam back to the car they had already passed away.

    He found his locker and placed his things inside, glancing around the hallways his eyes landed on Liza. She was standing with her twin sister, Ariah, and two guys. He had to admit that she held herself differently than Katherine, Liza had a compassionate sense about her that he never once felt with Katherine. Of course, Katherine had acted and pretended to be this wonderful, caring young lady but he knew now that it was all just an act. He was stupid enough to fall for it, but so did Damon and probably many men before them.
    Ariah felt the stares and sadly, the stares and whispers were staring to become normal. All she wanted was for everyone else to get on with their lives, so Ariah and her family could do the same. Or at least try to move on with their lives. “Just ignore them,” She whispered to her sister, she had never once blamed Liza for the accident. It was a freak accident that nothing could have stopped, but Ariah knew her sister was still beating herself up about being the cause of the accident. Which pained Ariah because it simply wasn’t true. “Jeremy stopped listening to us when he turned thirteen, there’s no chance he’ll start now.” She tried to lighten their mood as much as she could, today was going to be hell for them but they just had to get through this day and the next should get easier.

    Ariah saw Matt making his way over to them, he had helped out so much after the accident. But what surprised Ariah was that Matt’s best friend, Tyler, also walked over to them. He’s never really had much to do with the twins, but that never stopped Ariah from harbouring a crush on Tyler that she admired from afar. “Let’s hope,” She sighed as she really did hope Tyler was right, the stares and whispers was a reminder that she had lost both her parents at the same time. “We’re doing… okay…” She told Matt honestly, she had felt better about the day before they arrived at school which only made her want to go back home and crawl into her bed again. Ariah couldn’t tell if her sister was uncomfortable with Matt being there, they had broken up but she knew that wouldn’t cause Matt to abandon them especially now.
    October 21st, 2017 at 04:58am
  • overcome.

    overcome. (100)

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    (No worries; I’m gonna combine the parts since they’re together and have Liza walk to her locker at the end of my reply - maybe Stefan’s locker is next to hers?)

    Liza wished it was just that easy to ignore it all. But, would it ever be easy? How long would the sympathetic looks last, anyways? She hoped something new would happen and everybody’s attention would go to that instead. Nothing bad, of course, because she didn’t want anybody to get hurt or to die, but just… Something to distract everybody at school away from the fact that the Gilbert siblings’ parents had died. She just wanted something, anything to catch everybody’s interest in that moment, because having the focus on her and her siblings put her on edge. They’d dealt with enough with their parents’ deaths, so why should they have to deal with this as well? It wasn’t fair.

    Tyler offered a small nod in response as he watched the twins, looking between them for a moment. “Do any of you need any help with anything?” he asked with curiosity, looking more to Ariah, because she seemed to be the more together twin at the moment. She’d probably be able to come up with anything that they could help with a lot easier than Liza would. Of course, he didn’t really know much about either twin. Sure, they’d all grown up together, but he’d always just been close to Matt. Because of his personality and behavior, he hadn’t really gotten close to the others. It was easier that way. “Anything at all? I mean… I’m sure things aren’t easy for your family right now.” He couldn’t imagine losing his parents out of nowhere, after all. Even if his dad was an asshole, he knew it’d hurt to lose him or his mom.

    Matt looked between Tyler and Ariah for a moment before he focused on the twins fully and he nodded slightly. “You two let me know if things are hard, alright?” he offered up gently, “If you feel overwhelmed or just need to get out of class, I’ll do whatever I can to help.” Liza lifted her gaze, watching Matt for a moment before she nodded slightly, offering what she could of a smile. “We know, Matt,” she assured him gently, “Thank you.” She watched him for a moment before she eventually separated from Ariah to go to her locker. She knew Matt was trying his best to help, even though she’d kept herself at a distance from him, and that meant a lot, but it also felt like she was just burdening him.

    Tyler watched her leave before he looked to Matt, watching his friend’s expression fall slightly. Still, returning his gaze to Ariah, he nodded once. “Do you think you’ll be able to handle class?” he asked carefully, because he was pretty sure they shared the first class together. He figured that, if Matt was offering his help if they had trouble in class, he might as well offer his as well. It seemed like the right thing to do, even if the right thing to do wasn’t really something that he was used to. He was trying, though.
    October 21st, 2017 at 05:26am
  • sugarplum.

    sugarplum. (100)

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    Stefan couldn’t help but listen in on what the group of four were talking about, turning back he pretended to be busy at his locker while he still listened to their voices. It didn’t seem like Liza was speaking much though, not that it surprised him and he wanted to tell her that he was the one who saved her. Explain to her that he couldn’t save her parents and that it was actually his own fault, because he hadn’t acted fast enough to save her parents. So, she should blame him instead of blaming herself, not that it would probably help her as he knew what guilt felt. She would have to deal with the guilt herself, she would have to work through what she’s feeling on her own and in her own time.

    “I think we’re pretty good, but thank you.” Ariah looked at Tyler before she looked to her sister, she watched as Liza walked away from them and towards her locker. “Could you keep an eye on her, please?” She asked Matt quietly as he shared some classes with Liza that Ariah didn’t, and she was worried that Liza might not deal that well if she didn’t have some support around her. Or was Ariah worried that she would break down without Liza and Jeremy near her? Once Matt assured her that he would, she gave him a weak smile which is all she could give at the moment. “Thank you,” She looked at Matt before she also moved off so she could go to her locker, which was further down the hallway.

    Stefan turned to look at Liza when she opened her locker which was beside his, “Hi… this is my first day here, could you point me in the direction of Mr. Tanner’s history class?” He asked even though he knew where the classroom was, but he thought that maybe if he appeared to need some help then Liza would willingly want to talk to him. He gave her a warm smile as he grabbed the books he needed for class, being at school again was a strange feeling. He hadn’t put on this act of his for a long time now, he used to attend schools every time that he decided to settle in one place for several years. But for the past little while he hadn’t settled like he was planning to now.

    Ariah reached her locker and looked at Tyler who had followed her, “I’ll be fine.” She told him as she hid her grief and sadness the best she could, she had to be the strong one for Liza and Jeremy. Especially now that Jeremy had begun to spend more time with the stoners, including Vicki. She knew what her brother was doing, he was using drugs to mask his pain. Ariah had not only lost her parents but she felt like she was also losing part of her siblings, Liza blamed herself and Jeremy was using drugs. Both of which were out of Ariah’s control, she felt helpless because she couldn’t fix things for her family and that’s all she wanted to do. The bell rang through the school to signal it was time for class, suddenly dread filled Ariah as her heart beat increased in her chest. Maybe she wasn’t ready to come back to school, but Jenna had encouraged them all to.
    October 21st, 2017 at 11:20am
  • overcome.

    overcome. (100)

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    Liza had barely registered that somebody was standing at the locker next to hers that was usually vacant until that somebody spoke. Blinking, she looked over at him with mild shock while she worked on opening her locker. While she was still trying to deal with being back at school, it was… Nice to see somebody who didn’t know her and her family. “Oh, you’re in Mr. Tanner’s class?” she asked with surprise. “You might want to get out of it as quickly as possible. He’s, uh… Kind of difficult to deal with.” He tended to belittle the students and most students only had him as an option, since their schedules tended to be difficult to work around for any of the others.

    She watched him for a moment, shifting a bit. “I, um… I have his class first period. I could walk you there, if you want?” she offered up eventually, “Though I still stand by my suggestion to get out.” For a few moments, she watched him, taking him in. She didn’t want to seem weird, so she eventually dropped her gaze, but she could at least admit to herself that he was attractive. Looking back to her locker, she grabbed out her books, deciding that talking to him wasn’t the worst idea, especially since she didn’t want to seem rude and ignoring a new student because of her own problems just seemed selfish. Closing her locker, she looked to him. “If you’re ready to head there, we can go now.”
    Tyler’s brows furrowed slightly as he watched Ariah, following her quietly while he visited his locker, leaning against it since he’d already been to it that morning. “You know… Not to seem like I’m getting in your business or anything, but… You don’t really seem fine to me,” he mentioned a little tentatively. He didn’t want to upset her or anything, but he was sure she was still reeling from their parents’ deaths, even if she was assuring everybody that she was fine or that she’d be fine. For a few long moments, he took her in, trying to gauge how to proceed with this, but he eventually sighed. Shaking his head, he pushed himself away from his locker and moved closer to her.

    “Look… Losing your parents must have been really hard. And I get that you’re trying to be the strong one, looking out for your sister and your brother, but then, what about yourself?” He arched a brow with curiosity as he watched her. “Have you given yourself a chance to actually grieve or have you kept it all bottled up?” His expression dropped into a small frown as he watched her with concern. “I mean… If you’re there for everybody, then who’s going to be there for you? Who are you going to let be there for you, to help you through all of this? Because you can’t go through it alone.” And, while he hadn’t ever been close to her or her siblings, he couldn’t help but to worry.
    October 21st, 2017 at 12:11pm
  • sugarplum.

    sugarplum. (100)

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    Stefan looked at Liza, “I’m sure I can handle him. I’m a sucker for history, though.” He knew he could handle whatever this teacher threw at him, he had gone through a lot worse than a guy who thought he was better than other’s around him. “That would be great, thanks.” He smiled when she offered to walk with him to the classroom, he shut his locker once he had the books he needed. “Why haven’t you changed out of his class?” He asked as he waited for her to gather her things, he watched her but didn’t make it obvious that he was in deed watching her as he didn’t want to freak her out.

    “I’m ready, lead the way.” He nodded his head when she shut her locker door and asked if he was ready to head to class, “I’m Stefan by the way. And thanks for letting me tag along with you, the lady at the office gave me directions but I’m not great when it comes to directions.” That was a lie, but he couldn’t come out and tell her the true reason as to why he wanted to talk to her, so if he had to tell her a few little white lies to begin with then he would. He hoped that she would continue wanting to talk to him after their first period, if not then he would have to think of another way to grab her attention.
    Ariah didn’t answer Tyler because he was right, she wasn’t fine and she knew that she wasn’t. She was pretending to be okay for the sake of her siblings, she had to put them both before herself right now. They needed her. Looking at Tyler, it felt like he could see straight through the mask that she put on when people were around. “I don’t have time to think of myself, Liza blames herself for the accident and Jeremy is using drugs to deal with the pain. They come first,” She told him and Ariah felt some relief, she hadn’t talked much about how she was feeling because she was too busy looking after her family and trying to keep them all on track.

    “I’ll grieve once I know my sister and brother are fine, and I’ll grieve on my own.” Ariah wasn’t good at expressing her emotions, especially when she was sad or hurting because she always felt like if she talked to someone, then she would be a burden. So, she did tend to bottle her emotions up. “You don’t have to worry, Tyler. I may not be fine now, but I will be.” She didn’t want him to waste any of his time on her, he would have better things to do with his day then spend it with her and listen to how she was feeling. Ariah didn’t think she needed anyone to be there for her, she thought she could do it all on her own and so far, she had been. “We should get to class,” She told him as she shut her locker, they shared a few classes together and the first class of the day was English.
    October 22nd, 2017 at 08:00am
  • overcome.

    overcome. (100)

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    Liza listened to him, nodding slowly to his words. She figured that, if he had the confidence to deal with Tanner, it was his choice in the end. At least she’d warned him. “Oh, um… Any other history class would have conflicted with the rest of my schedule,” she told him with a small shrug. “And, I kind of wanted to challenge myself at the beginning of the school year.” But, now, she wasn’t sure that had been a good idea. In fact, she regretted it at this point. She’d fallen behind already, with the weeks they’d taken off to deal with their parents’ deaths. Tanner wouldn’t go easy on her, she knew it, but she figured she’d just… Deal with it as it came. At least she could try to get through it.

    Nodding, she began leading the way to class, though she looked to him, blinking when he introduced himself. “Liza,” she introduced, offering what she could force of a smile for now. At least this guy didn’t know about their parents. No sympathetic looks from him. No whispering with others about what had happened and how painful it must be for the Gilbert siblings. But, she was sure that, with him being new, there’d be whispers about him, which might not be the best thing, either. “It’s not a problem, really.” She could use the distraction, but she didn’t say that. “I mean, you’ve got to start somewhere as the new kid, right? And, it’d be really bad if you started your first day being lost.”
    “No, what comes first is the fact that you’re all grieving. All of you,” Tyler told her pointedly as he watched her with concern. He worried that her focusing on her siblings so much would just serve to make things all that much harder on her in the end when she finally let herself grieve. And, if she kept it all bottled up - the grief, the pain, everything bad she was feeling right now, - it’d just end up making things worse for her. “You worrying about your siblings isn’t going to make things easier for any of you. If you focus on them, they’re going to notice that you’re bottling it all up and then they’ll want to focus on you. Wouldn’t it be better if you let your emotions out so the three of you could focus on each other?”

    Arching a brow, he watched her for a moment before he sighed out. “Look, you don’t even have to grieve with them. Just… Let yourself grieve. Grieve with someone or even alone, whatever it takes to make it easier to make it through all of this.” Eyeing her, he took a step closer to her, examining her for a few moments. “You don’t need to keep it all in, Ariah.” He knew it couldn’t be easy for her. And, worrying about her siblings so much would only prolong the suffering they all went through. He nodded, though, when she mentioned class, and he watched her for a few moments before he adjusted his bag on his shoulders. “Alright, come on. Let’s go.” He offered a small smile before he turned and led the way.
    October 22nd, 2017 at 08:33am
  • sugarplum.

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    “It’s nice to meet you, Liza.” Stefan smiled as he walked beside her through the hallways of the high school, each still receiving a few stares from students as they went towards their classroom. But not as many as before, as all students were busy rushing for their lockers or heading off to whichever room they needed to be in. “I’m sure we’ll both do fine with Mr. Tanner, but thanks for the warning. He won’t be the first arrogant guy I’ve dealt with,” He told her as he has had to deal with his older brother for centuries, plus all the other arrogant people he had met during his vampiric life time. Following Liza, it didn’t take them long before she was stepping into a classroom.

    His eyes scanned over the desks and decided to take one that was close to the one Liza sat at, but still gave her some distance. Sitting down he pulled out his books, even though he knew every single event in history, he still had to act like he was a normal human teenager. He watched as Mr. Tanner strolled into the room and begun the lesson, Stefan could already tell that Liza was right to warn him. Mr. Tanner was a jerk and didn’t see anything wrong with picking on the students in his class, how he was still a teacher shocked Stefan. He didn’t really pay attention to the class, his eyes kept finding their way to Liza.
    Ariah knew that Tyler was right, she wasn’t sure if she was going to listen to his advice or not as he still had both his parents. Not that any of the other students at the school had lost both parents in as a tragic way, so, no one could possibly understand what she was going through. She wasn’t sure why Tyler even cared so much, she hadn’t expected him too. Maybe he was doing it as a favour for Matt, that wouldn’t surprise Ariah, or maybe a part of Tyler did care. Ariah didn’t know and she didn’t have time to think about it, she had to focus on getting through the day without breaking down. She followed Tyler through the school until they reached their first period, she found an empty desk and sat down. Pulling her books and pen from her backpack, she sighed as she knew it was going to be a long day.

    As the teacher started the lesson, Ariah found it hard to concentrate on what the teacher was saying. She tried taking notes like she normally did, but found herself stopping mid-sentence because she lost her train of thought. She knew at that point, she did need to talk to someone about everything that was going on. She didn’t want to burden Liza or Jeremy or Jenna, Matt was already doing so much for them that it didn’t seem fair if she dumped all her emotions onto him. She wasn’t sure who else she could turn to, Bonnie had been there for them as well but Ariah wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk to someone she was close with as she felt like they would only tell her what she wanted to hear, not what she needed to hear.
    October 22nd, 2017 at 10:26am
  • overcome.

    overcome. (100)

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    When lunch came around, Liza found a spot outside to eat at. She was sure Ariah and any of their friends would be joining them eventually and she could see Jeremy going towards the stoner area of the school. She watched her brother with concern for a moment, but decided that if she talked to him now, in public where he might think she was trying to embarrass him, it would only end badly. It’d be best to talk to him when they got home instead. Dropping her gaze to her meal, she picked at it a bit, running over the day’s events. Mr. Tanner had been an ass, which she’d expected, but the rest of the teachers had been patient with the fact that she was behind, which came as a relief.

    More than that, Bonnie had mentioned that the “cute new guy” had been watching her in Mr. Tanner’s class. And, really, Liza knew that she shouldn’t care about that, with everything her family was dealing with and the fact that she and Matt had only been broken up for a few weeks and with her only having met the guy today, but… Well, hearing Bonnie mention it had definitely made her mind all fuzzy and her heart warm, but she’d tried to ignore it.
    Tyler shared the class before lunch with Ariah, so, when it came time for lunch, he stood up and moved over to her desk. He was still worried about her, since he’d seen how distracted she had been in their first class, so he couldn’t help but want to stick close to her, just in case she needed to break down or needed somebody to talk to. Either way it went, he decided that he’d be right there for her because she probably needed it. It seemed like she’d been so busy being the support that her siblings needed that she hadn’t considered the fact that maybe she needed a little support as well. And, sure, maybe Tyler wasn’t the best option to give that support, but he’d give it if she accepted it.

    “Ready for lunch?” he asked, offering a small smile as he arched a brow and tilted his head to the side. “I know you and your sister usually eat with Bonnie, Caroline, and Matt. Mind if I join in for today?” He wanted to be there for her, after all. For a few moments, he watched her before he shifted, leaning against the desk and bending down to her eye level a bit, his eyes locking on hers as he gauged her, taking her in for a while. “Are you doing okay?” he asked gently, keeping his voice surprisingly soft to avoid catching anybody’s attention, because he was sure that wouldn’t help her at all.
    October 22nd, 2017 at 11:28am
  • sugarplum.

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    (Sorry if this post is horrible)

    Stefan had made it half way through the first day at Mystic Falls high school, without any incidents. He did have to bite his tongue in Mr. Tanner’s class as he didn’t seem to care at all that Liza was going through a hard time, not that it really surprised him really by how the teacher acted the second he stepped into the classroom. He grabbed an apple for his lunch, so, he wasn’t the new kid at school that wasn’t seen eating. Making his way outside, he found an empty table and sat down. He could see Liza from where he was sitting, this time he didn’t steal as many glances over at her as more people could see if he was staring at her.

    Bonnie walked over to the table where Liza was sitting, “So, what do you think of the hottie?” She asked smiling as she sat down with her friend, she knew Liza and Matt hadn’t broken up that long ago, but the new guy was really hot. And he seemed rather interested in Liza, which Bonnie thought was a great thing. Even if Matt wanted to start the relationship again, Bonnie knew that Liza didn’t feel the same for Matt anymore. “How are you going?” She asked as she looked at Liza, she was worried about the twins and Jeremy.
    Classes were harder than Ariah had been expecting, she shared a few with her sister that morning which made those classes easier for her. The teachers were understanding and gave Ariah space, she packed up her things and put her books into her backpack when the bell rang for lunch time. She looked at Tyler when he asked if he could join her for lunch, “Sure. If you want,” She hadn’t expected him to still be keeping an eye on her, now Ariah wasn’t sure why he was. At first, she thought Matt had asked him to because they shared some classes together but now she didn’t know why he was still hanging around her.

    “I’m fine,” She assured him as she stood up from her desk, she grabbed her backpack and walked out of the classroom. “I’m not just going to break, you know.” She wasn’t this fragile person that everyone had to be careful around, she walked with Tyler to their lockers which were close by. She dumped her backpack into her locker and grabbed her lunch, once he was ready she headed outside knowing Liza enjoyed eating lunch outside when it was a nice day. “Hey, Tyler’s going to be joining us.” She told Bonnie and Liza who were already at the table, but as she sat down she saw Matt and Caroline heading over.
    October 23rd, 2017 at 02:25am
  • overcome.

    overcome. (100)

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    (Your post is great, don’t worry! Gonna combine, since they’ll be together.)

    Liza blinked, looking to Bonnie as she arched a brow. “Well, I mean, obviously he’s hot,” she said carefully, rolling her eyes with faint amusement. “But, come on, Bon. Matt and I just ended a few weeks ago and… And with my parents dying, I doubt it’s really the best idea to throw myself in the game so quickly.” She dropped her gaze to her food, picking at it for a moment before she shrugged. “We could all be better, but… We’re hanging in there, one way or another. We’ll get through this.” She hoped so, anyways. She wasn’t entirely sure if the pain itself would ever go away, but she hoped that it’d at least become somewhat bearable. Hearing her sister, though, she looked up, surprised to see Tyler, but when she saw Matt and Caroline heading over, she decided to drop any conversation of the hot new guy; she didn’t want to hurt Matt. “That’s fine,” she assured with a small smile as she nodded.

    “Of course you’re not going to break. That doesn’t mean people can’t worry about you,” Tyler told her as he watched her, arching a brow with concern, but he followed her anyways, holding his lunch as they walked. Seeing the others, he offered a small nod as he moved to sit down next to Ariah. “I guess it was only a matter of time before I ended up at this table, anyways,” he joked lightly, because Matt was his best friend and he was sure that, at some point, he’d end up only having Matt to eat lunch with - but since Matt tended to eat with the twins and their friends, it meant that Tyler would have inevitably ended up eating lunch with the group eventually. It had just been a matter of time and he supposed now was as good a time as any, even if everything wasn’t in the best circumstances. He looked around at the others, watching them for a moment, before his gaze went to Caroline and Matt as they walked up.

    “Hey!” Caroline greeted as she rushed over to hug the twins. She didn’t share any of their early classes with them, though her classes after lunch were with them, mostly. “You came. I’m so glad.” She smiled slightly, examining them with concern. “Are you two okay?” She looked to Bonnie, then, curious and concerned. “Are they okay?” Liza arched a brow, watching Caroline for a moment. “Care, we’re right here,” she mentioned lightly, shaking her head with faint amusement. Regardless of how overbearing Caroline could sometimes be, she was at least relieved to know that their friends were genuinely concerned for them and not just faking sympathy like most of the students who didn’t even talk to or know them. “I know, I know,” Caroline said carefully, “But I also know you two. If somebody asks if you’re okay, you’ll paint a smile and say you’re fine when, really, you’re both hurting. So, it’s best to get somebody else’s perspective.”

    Tyler listened idly but he eventually shook his head, leaning to watch them a bit. “They’ll be fine, Caroline,” he told her, looking to Ariah, because he’d noticed from experience that she didn’t seem to enjoy it when people fretted over her. Besides, it might be easier on her if the attention was off of her and her sister entirely. Shifting a bit, he thought about anything he could use as a distraction. “What’s everybody doing after school?” he asked eventually, deciding that was a good way to get everybody distracted. They’d all talk about themselves rather than focusing on the twins. He looked to Ariah, watching her, hoping that he’d made the right call in trying to distract the others in an attempt to help her in some way. He didn’t want to make her uncomfortable by looking out for her, of course, but he was going to look out for her either way, since she was so busy worrying about everybody else.
    October 23rd, 2017 at 03:02am
  • sugarplum.

    sugarplum. (100)

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    (I’m just going to focus on the group for now, as Stefan can’t really do much. Unless you want me to have him join them at the table?)

    Bonnie gave Liza a knowing grin when she admitted that the new guy was indeed hot, she would have asked more about him but thought better of it as she knew Matt would get to the table shortly and she didn’t want to hurt him more than he already was. She’d leave her questions for Liza to later, because she had seen her talking to the new guy and walking with him to first period. “Tyler’s right, they’ll be fine because they have all of us.” Bonnie smiled at Caroline before her eyes moved over their small group, if any of them could handle a situation like this then it would be the twins.

    Ariah knew that Caroline just cared about her and Liza, but she was getting tired of people asking how she was doing. So, when Tyler spoke up, she was grateful that he had. Ariah was much like her sister, neither of them liked having attention solely on them. Looking beside her, she gave Tyler a small smile to thank him for moving the subject off of them. “I’ll probably head home, make a start on any work that I’ve missed.” She hated being behind in her school work, she was certain that the Gilbert siblings would be given plenty of time to catch up but Ariah still didn’t like falling behind.

    “Seriously? Ariah, we aren’t letting you bury yourself in homework. I was heading to the Grill, let’s all go and hang out.” Matt suggested as he looked at his friends, he was glad to see that Tyler had finally joined them. His best friend could be a dick, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a nice person. Seeing what he was doing for Ariah proved that, he wouldn’t consider Tyler and Ariah to be friends and yet there Tyler was, helping her and making sure that she was alright. “What do you say, Liza? You can try to beat me at pool,” He grinned at his girlfriend… ex-girlfriend, he hadn’t completely come to terms with their break up yet.

    “Yeah, that will be fun. You two have to come,” Bonnie encouraged knowing that she couldn’t let the twins just curl up at home, they needed to be out and start doing what they used to before the accident. Ariah looked across the table to her sister, it would be good for them if they did spend more time with their friends. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt,” She shrugged her shoulders lightly as she hadn’t been to the Grill since losing her parents.
    October 23rd, 2017 at 08:32am
  • overcome.

    overcome. (100)

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    (Ah, hm… Maybe he can join them? Bonnie could invite him over, maybe?)

    Tyler smiled slightly when he saw the smile Ariah shot his way. He figured that meant he’d done the right thing and he felt relief fill him for a moment. If he’d managed to help Ariah at all, even for that one moment, then he was pretty proud of himself. “The Grill sounds like a great plan. Pool, darts, food,” he said with a small grin, looking around to the others, though his gaze lingered on Ariah, “We can all just hang out and keep ourselves occupied. And, if Ariah absolutely wants to do homework, you nerds can study together there.” His tone was joking, teasing, because he knew that it was possible the girls might all get into studying; Caroline was too hard of a worker to not jump in on that. At least in his opinion, anyways.

    Caroline arched a brow at the suggestion, thinking about it for a few moments before she eventually nodded. “Right, okay,” she decided, offering a small grin as she looked around, focusing on the twins for a moment. “It will give us all something to do. And, we can study over our meals before or after we have fun with pool or darts or whatever else we decide to do there. I can help you two catch up on everything.” Because, she wanted to help her friends. She knew she was bad with words and that she might have upset the twins with her words earlier, but she wanted to be there for them and help them through the hard time they were going through as much as she possibly could.

    Liza thought about it, glancing between her friends for a moment before she offered what she could of an amused look to Matt, arching a brow. “Well… Fine. As long as you don’t claim that you were going easy on me if I end up beating you,” she decided with a firm nod. While she wasn’t sure it was the best idea, since she worried that Matt might get his hopes up, she figured that this would at least give her and Ariah a chance to distract themselves. Or, at least, she hoped anyways, because she knew they were both having a hard time, even if her sister wouldn’t admit it. Peering over at Ariah, she watched her sister for a moment before she offered a small smile and nodded slightly. They could do this.

    “Great,” Tyler decided with a broad grin as he looked between the group. “Then we can all head there the moment school ends.” He figured that would give them plenty of time to hang out and have fun and study, if that ended up being the entire plan. Hell, he might even jump in on studying if for no other reason than to avoid pissing his dad off with bad grades. Liza nodded slightly, thinking about it for a few moments. “I’ll make sure to let Jenna know,” she decided, figuring it’d at least give Jenna some relief to know that they wouldn’t be cooped up at home. It would also ensure that Jenna wouldn’t worry if they didn’t come straight home. Pulling out her phone, she texted Jenna to let her know. “We’ll have fun,” Caroline decided with a small grin, looking between her friends.
    October 23rd, 2017 at 10:55am
  • sugarplum.

    sugarplum. (100)

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    “Hey…” Ariah looked at Tyler as she playfully smacked his arm, “We aren’t nerds. We just want to actually pass our classes,” She looked at him, but she knew he was only teasing them, if they were all going to be at the Grill then Ariah probably wouldn’t study. She didn’t want to be the one who didn’t join in on the fun that her friends were having, the Grill wasn’t the best place to study either as people weren’t all that quiet. Ariah couldn’t help but smile at Caroline, it was obvious she was trying so hard to say the right thing as words tended to just fall from her lips. And sometimes that could be considered harsh or rude or even hateful, but anyone who knew Caroline knew that she said whatever crossed her mind.

    Matt chuckled softly, “I promise not to say that.” He knew he needed to back off a little and give Liza space, he knew he needed to move on from her but what if there was a chance for them to be together later on? Right now, he would be there for her as a friend because that is what they were before they started dating. Bonnie smiled as she looked at her friends, before something caught her eye. Looking across the yard she spotted the new hottie sitting on his own, normally she wouldn’t have been so friendly with someone she didn’t know, especially with what the twins were going through, but it would be rude of her if she didn’t at least invite the hottie over to join them. So, he wouldn’t have to sit on his own.

    Standing up, Bonnie grabbed the attention of the new guy and waved him over. “Hey, you can join us for lunch. If you want,” She offered him, she wasn’t trying to make Liza uncomfortable or to hurt Matt. It was the guy’s first day, and he was eating his lunch on his own, she felt bad for him as she could only imagine how hard it was moving to a new town and having to start over at a new school. Smiling Bonnie watched as he moved over to the table, “I’m Bonnie. This is Caroline and Liza, Matt, Ariah and Tyler.” She pointed with her finger as she said their names, “Take a seat. We were just saying that we’re heading to the Grill after school, if you aren’t busy then you’re welcome to join us.” She offered as she didn’t think her friends would mind, none of them has ever been the new kid at a new school or have struggled to make friends.

    “Ah… thanks, I’m Stefan and that sounds really good.” Stefan grinned as he sat down at the table, he had already finished his apple and had tossed the apple core into the trash can. His eyes scanned their faces and he realised he had shared at least one class with all of them, “When did you move here?” Matt asked looking at the new guy, he wasn’t sure if he liked Stefan or not yet. “About a month ago, I’m staying with my Uncle Zack.” Stefan answered easily as it was the truth, although he had only returned to Mystic Falls a month ago. He hadn’t decided to stay in town, until he saw Liza and knew he needed to get to know her.
    October 24th, 2017 at 07:07am
  • overcome.

    overcome. (100)

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    Tyler laughed when Ariah smacked his arm and he rubbed his arm in mock pain, even though it didn’t really hurt at all. “Sure, sure, whatever you say,” he said with a small grin, though he was glad to see that she was being playful. Maybe this was what she needed, something to distract her and keep her occupied. There wasn’t much that he could do to help her, but if distracting her helped, he’d do it any time. “I’m sure you’ll do just find in your classes. We can all study, in that case.” He shrugged, figuring it would be best for all of them. At least the group could help catch the twins up in the classes, since he was sure they both needed it and each member of the group had at least one class with the twins each.

    Liza paused when she heard Bonnie inviting Stefan over and she stared at her friend in mild shock. While she certainly didn’t mind Stefan joining them, she worried that Matt might notice something and she never wanted to hurt Matt, but she definitely didn’t want to draw his attention to the fact that she might be interested in somebody so soon after their relationship had ended. Peering over at Stefan, she watched him for a moment, listening to his words, but the mention of about a month ago made her recall what had happened the few weeks before and she quickly tried to distract herself. “Your last name’s Salvatore, right? So, your uncle is Zack Salvatore?” she asked, “The guy with the boarding house?”

    Caroline smiled, leaning forward as she figured she might as well join in on the conversation as well. “I think every single one of us has been curious about what the inside of that house looks like,” she mentioned jokingly, though she was being honest as well. The house was clearly large and spacious, but the only person they ever knew of being there had been Zack. They hadn’t even really known that he’d had any other family, but she supposed they must have been some kind of distant relatives to each other, as that would make sense.

    Tyler peered over at the guy for a moment, not quite sure what to think of him. Looking to Matt, he wasn’t sure what his best friend thought of the guy, either, and he arched his brows up as slyly as he could, curious to whether Matt thought this guy was okay or not. But, it was the new guy, so Tyler figured he’d at least play nice for now regardless. He’d seen Liza staring at the guy when he sat down, though, and a part of him worried about his friend. “You into any sports, new kid?” he asked eventually, figuring he might as well jump into the conversation as well.
    October 24th, 2017 at 07:29am
  • sugarplum.

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    “Since when do you study? I didn’t think you knew what studying was,” Ariah teased Tyler before she could stop herself, why was she suddenly acting like this? From never really talking to him, but having a crush on him, now she was joking with him in front of their friends. Maybe this was what she needed, someone to take her mind off of… well everything in her life right now. Tyler wasn’t close to her or her family, maybe he was the perfect person to help her through this. Ariah wasn’t sure, she’d have to wait and see what happened. She smiled as she watched Bonnie invite the new guy over to their table, she gave him a smile when he sat down. He was pretty cute, not really her type though.

    Stefan nodded his head as he looked at Liza, “That’s right. I’m staying with him, at the boarding house.” He spoke before his eyes moved onto a blonde, “It’s not really all that exciting. Nothing has really changed, I guess it’s a bit more old fashioned. I think Zach likes it that way though,” He explained and lied slightly, he was certain that if Zach had his way he would change everything in the house. But he probably didn’t have the guts, he knew that if he did Damon wouldn’t like it. Stefan didn’t really care either way, it wasn’t like he was in Mystic Falls often and Damon was there even less since the last falling out they had. The décor did remind Stefan of when he was a child and grew up in the house, he didn’t have many fond memories of those times. But he also didn’t have much time to change how the house looked, so he just let it be.

    Matt wasn’t sure what to think about Stefan, he had noticed Stefan was getting lots of attention from the girls at school. He hoped Liza’s attention wasn’t getting stolen, he couldn’t help but worry that it had already happened, and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. He wanted Liza to be happy, he wanted that more than anything for her. But, he still thought he was the one who would make her happy again. Once she dealt with her parents’ death, in time she would want to be with him again. He glanced over at Tyler and shrugged his shoulders slightly, he didn’t know what to think about the guy new. Stefan hadn’t said or done anything that was alarming to Matt, and he was sure that Stefan was probably a good guy but, if he made a move on Liza then Matt wasn’t sure what he’d do.

    Ariah turned to look at Tyler when he asked Stefan about sport, “Tyler. He has a name,” She wanted to smack him for calling Stefan ‘new kid’, instead she scolded him from where she was sitting. “It’s fine,” Stefan chuckled softly as names like that didn’t bother him, he had heard so much worse. “I like football,” He looked at Tyler knowing what the guy was doing, he could ask him anything and Stefan would have an answer waiting. “Yeah? You should try out for the team, try outs are tomorrow right?” Ariah asked as she looked at Tyler, “Tyler and Matt are on the team.” She smiled at Stefan, she hadn’t yet made her mind up about him but he seemed really nice.
    October 28th, 2017 at 11:51am
  • overcome.

    overcome. (100)

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    Tyler wanted to mention that he had to study - if his grades got low, it would end with his dad getting pissed off and that was the last thing that Tyler wanted to deal with. It would cause too many problems and Tyler dealt with his father’s anger enough as it was. He didn’t want to add to it. But, he couldn’t tell Ariah all of that. Matt was the only person who really had any sort of understanding of what Tyler’s home life was like and, even then, Matt didn’t really know everything, and Tyler wasn’t all that eager to let anybody know about it all. “Well, we’ve all got to study at some point,” he said instead, offering a small grin as he shrugged. “I mean, I’m not a complete idiot.”

    A small smile formed on Liza’s features and she nodded, relieved that she knew who they were talking about, at least. Of course, Zach tended to be a recluse, from what she’d heard about him, but she figured he probably had his reasons to mostly keep to himself. “Is it at least comfortable there?” she asked with an arched brow. She was sure that, with how large it was, the fact that it was just Zach and Stefan there might make the entire place seem overwhelming. For a moment, she wondered if it was lonely, too. She knew that, before Jenna moved in with them, after their parents’ deaths, with just her, Ariah, and Jeremy in the house, it felt pretty lonely there, even if it wasn’t a huge house.

    Caroline arched a brow, leaning forward as she watched him. “So, why are you living with your uncle, anyways?” she asked with curiosity. Liza blinked, shooting Caroline a look, because she was sure that was prying. But, Caroline was nothing if not curious and… Well, nosey. Caroline caught Liza’s look, though, and dismissed it with a wave of her hand. “What? I’m sure we’re all curious. I mean, new, hot guy shows up and nobody wants to know why?” She snorted, settling her gaze back on Stefan as she offered a small grin. “Come on, you can tell us. I’m sure it’s nothing we haven’t heard before.”

    “Or you can ignore Caroline,” Tyler offered up with a small shrug. “I’m sure it’s nothing we haven’t done before,” he joked lightly, mostly to reuse Caroline’s words and use them against her. He nodded, though, to Ariah’s words and looked over for a moment. “Well, yeah,” he confirmed with a small nod, “Tomorrow, after school. Fair warning, we don’t go easy.” Liza arched a brow, looking to Tyler for a moment before she looked to Tyler. “Mr. Tanner is the football coach, if that gives you any understanding of just how difficult it may be,” she offered up with a small shrug.
    October 29th, 2017 at 02:55am
  • sugarplum.

    sugarplum. (100)

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    Ariah looked at Tyler, she knew that he did study and pay attention in class. His parents weren’t the type to let their son fail school, but instead of saying anything to Tyler. Ariah nudged his side lightly with her arm, as she wasn’t all that interested in the new guy. She’d be nice to him and she’d be friendly, but it seemed like Caroline and even her sister were more interested in the guy. Her eyes moved across the table to where Liza sat, maybe it wasn’t a bad idea for her to get to know Stefan as it could possibly help take her mind off losing their parents. And anything that would help with that, Ariah was all for because her sister needed a break. She needed someone who wouldn’t bring up their parent’s death, or make Liza remember the accident.

    “It is surprisingly comfortable, it may be large, but it does have a sense of being home.” Stefan explained the best he could, it was home for him and he was comfortable there because he grew up in the house. He may not send lots of time there anymore, but it will always be home for him. He looked at Liza and gave her a small smile, before Caroline asked him yet another question. A more personal question at that, but he had been expecting this to happen. Why wouldn’t it? “No, it’s fine. I moved in with my uncle because my parents aren’t around anymore,” He spoke and left it at that, they didn’t need to know any more details. He didn’t care if they assumed his parents left because they weren’t good parents, or that they had died. In his eyes, his parents weren’t great ones, and both are dead now.

    Ariah looked at Stefan, “Oh… sorry to hear that. We don’t really see Zach around, but if you get bored at home then we’re always around.” She looked at him as she thought she should give him the option of hanging out with them, besides it wouldn’t hurt anyone if one more friend joined their group. She looked at Liza and shared a knowing look with her, he might be the new guy in town, but he obviously has gone through some things in his life. Some of which were similar to them, and that wasn’t common in a small town like Mystic Falls. “How about we give Stefan a break from all the questions, huh Caroline.” Ariah knew Caroline was nosy, but Stefan probably didn’t feel welcome with all the questions being thrown at him.

    Stefan smiled at Ariah, the twin sister of Liza. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” He nodded his head before he looked at Tyler and then Liza, “I wouldn’t expect you to go easy on me. And I reckon I’d be able to handle Mr Tanner as a coach,” He wouldn’t mind trying out for the football team, it would be good for his appearance as a normal teenage boy. He also did enjoy playing the sport, he first started playing with Damon back when they were still human, of course. And he did miss it. “I’ll be there, it’ll be fun.” He looked at Tyler and Matt, neither of them seemed all that impressed by him yet. Although Stefan didn’t care, he only had to impress Liza.
    October 29th, 2017 at 10:11am